'* The feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped («/?<£- <f>T)o-av') in the brim of the water." 1 Samuel xiv. 27 : Jonathan 11 dipped " (tfiatytv) the end of the rod which was in his hand u in an honey-comb." Psalm lxviii. 23 (24), " That thy foot may be dipped (/?«</>??) in the blood of thine enemies." These exam- ples prove that even fidm-v, as used in the Septuagint, does not, when it means to dip, include the idea of complete immersion.
/3a7m£<D (according to Trommius), besides the passage already quoted from 2 Kings v. 14, occurs in the Septuagint only in Isaiah xxi. 4, where the Greek is rj dvofxia fie /?a7rn'£«, " iniquity baptizes (or overwhelms) me." The English version, adhering to the Hebrew, reads, " Fearfulness affrighted me." The Vulgate has "Tenebraa stupefecerunt me." The word occurs twice in the Apocrypha, Judith xii. 7, and Sirach xxxiv. 27 [xxxi. 25]. Wahl,1 referring to these two passages, defines " fidirrofiai, me lavo = i/t7rro/icu," " I wash myself." In Sirach the expression is, $*■*- Ti£6fievo<s dvo veKpov, " baptized from a dead body," i. e., purified from the uncleanness contracted by touching a dead body. Or, as Fritzsche translates it, " Der sich wascht von einem Todten, einer^Leiche, sich reinigt von der Befleckung, die ihm die Berii- hrung des Leichn aus zugezogen, vrgl. 4 Moses xix. II."2 That is, " He that washes from a corpse purifies himself from the defilement occasioned by touching it." We learn from the pas- sage referred to for illustration (Numbers xix. 11-13), that this purification was effected by sprinkling the ashes of a heifer. (See ver. 9, and compare Heb. ix. 13.) In Numbers xix. 13, it is said, " Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any one that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord ; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel, because the water of sepa- ration was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean ; his un- cleanness is yet upon him." The water of separation was the water in which the ashes of a red heifer had been mingled, as described in the preceding part of the chapter. And it was the sprinkling of that water which effected the baptism, or purifica- tion, of the defiled person.
The passage in Judith determines nothing either way as to the meaning of the word. It merely says, l^airri^To h ttj TrapepfioXr) €7ri rr}<: injyfjs tov vScitos, " she baptized herself in the camp at a fountain of water." If it be a settled point that /Wri'&o always
1 Clavis Librorum V. T. Apocryphorum Philologica, Auctore Christ. Abrah. Wahl, Philos. et Theol! Doctore, Leipzig, 1853.
2 Kurzgefasstes exegetisches Handbuch zu den Apokryphen des Alten Testaments*, von ' Otto Fridolin Fritzsche, Leipzig, 1859, vol. v. p. 195.
vol. in. 34
5S0 PART m. Ch. XX. — the means of grace.
means to immerse, then this passage asserts that Judith immersed herself in the fountain. But if, as the vast majority of Chris- tians believe, the word often means to wash, or purify, without regard to the way in which the purification is effected, then the passage cannot be proved to assert anything more than that Judith washed herself at the fountain. The circumstances of the case are all in favour of the latter interpretation. According to the narrative, the land had been invaded by an immense host of Assyrians under the command of Holofernes. Resistance seemed hopeless, and utter destruction was imminent. In this emergency Judith, a young, beautiful, and rich woman, inflamed with zeal for her country and her religion, determined to make a desperate effort for the salvation of her people. For this purpose, arrayed to the best advantage, she made her way into the ene- mies' camp and presented herself to Holofernes and promised to aid him in the conquest of the land. The Assyrian general, cap- tivated by her charms, treated her with great favour. She re- mained undisturbed in her tent for three days, but was permitted at night to resort to the fountain for purification. On the fourth day she was invited to a great feast, at which Holofernes drank to excess, so that when the guests had retired and the general was in a state of helpless intoxication, Judith, with the assistance of her maid, cut off his head and carried it to the camp of her own people. This led to the overthrow of the Assyrians and the deliverance of the land.
The circumstances in this case which favour the assumption that Judith went to the fountain not for immersion, but for ablu- tion, are, (1.) It was within the camp, necessarily, for such a host, of large dimensions. But a camp filled with soldiers does not seem to be an appropriate bathing-place for a lady of distinc- tion even at night. (2.) Dr. Conant says : " There was evi- dently no lack of water for the immersion of the body, after the Jewish manner, namely by walking into the water to the proper depth, and then sinking down till the whole body was immersed." * The probability, however, seems all the other way. It must have been an extraordinary fountain, if it allowed of immersion in any such way. If the word /3airrL&a can only mean " to immerse," these considerations amount to nothing. But if the word means to wash or to purify as well as to immerse, then they are of sufficient weight to turn the scale in favour of the former explanation. Of itself, however, the passage proves noth- ing.
1 Meaninn and Use of Baptizein, New York, 1868, p. 85.